The United Nations World Food Programme said crowds of Palestinians stormed one of the agency’s warehouses in central Gaza on Wednesday in search of food.
Reports indicated that four people died, two shot dead and two crushed by crowds, and several more were injured in the incident in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.
“Gaza needs an immediate scale-up of food assistance. This is the only way to reassure people that they will not starve,” WFP said in a statement.
The deaths came a day after a crowd was fired upon while overrunning a new aid distribution site in the Gaza Strip set up by an Israeli and US-backed foundation, killing at least one Palestinian and wounding 48 others, Gaza’s Health Ministry said.
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The Red Cross Field Hospital said the wounded from that scene included women and children with gunshot wounds.
People broke through the fences around the distribution site in Gaza on Tuesday, and an Associated Press journalist heard Israeli tank and gunfire, and saw a military helicopter firing flares.
Earlier, UN official Ajith Sunghay had said 47 Palestinians were injured, mostly by gunfire, at the hub set up by an Israeli and US-backed foundation outside Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah.
It was not yet known whether the death and injuries were caused by Israeli forces, private contractors or others. The foundation said its military contractors had not fired on the crowd but “fell back” before resuming aid operations. Israel said its troops nearby had fired warning shots.
The distribution hub outside Rafah was opened the day before by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has been slated by Israel to take over aid operations.
The UN and other humanitarian organisations have rejected the new system, saying it will not be able to meet the needs of Gaza’s 2.3 million people and allows Israel to use food as a weapon to control the population.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that “there was some loss of control momentarily” at the distribution point, adding that “happily, we brought it under control”.
He repeated that Israel plans to move Gaza’s entire population to a “sterile zone” at the southern end of the territory while troops fight Hamas elsewhere.
Palestinians have become desperate for food after nearly three months of Israeli blockade pushed Gaza to the brink of famine.
Meanwhile, Mr Netanyahu said Israel has killed senior Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar, apparently confirming his death in a recent air strike in Gaza.
Speaking before parliament, Mr Netanyahu included Mr Sinwar in a list of Hamas leaders killed in Israeli strikes.
Mohammed Sinwar is the brother of Yahya Sinwar, one of the masterminds of Hamas’s October 7th attack, who was killed by Israeli forces last year.
In a separate development, Israel said it had carried out air strikes on the international airport in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, after Iran-backed Houthi rebels fired several missiles at the country in recent days, without causing casualties.
The Israeli military said it destroyed aircraft used by the rebels.
Israel last struck the airport in Sanaa on May 6th, destroying the airport’s terminal and leaving its runway riddled with craters. Some flights resumed to Sanaa on May 17th. - Agencies
